


lull

by thetr1ckster



Category: Persona 3
Genre: F/M, First Kiss, Hurt/Comfort, One Shot, Short & Sweet, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-23
Updated: 2019-09-23
Packaged: 2020-10-26 12:15:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20742059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thetr1ckster/pseuds/thetr1ckster
Summary: Although the world’s fate hung in the balance, in that moment, Akihiko Sanada and Mitsuru Kirijo were happy.-Set in January.





	lull

**Author's Note:**

> Happy birthday, Aki. <3

“I don’t want to die.”

Five words were spoken softly into the frigid January night through trembling lips, followed quickly by a cloud of breath.

Akihiko’s toes brushed against the ground, halting the steady to-and-fro of the swing he was seated on. His gloved hands tightened around the frozen chain. All he heard was the creaking of the rusty swing beside him as it moved, alongside the soft pitter-patter of Koromaru’s paws against the dusting of snow on the ground.

He glanced over to his side. Despite the darkness surrounding them, he could still see the highlighted features of Mitsuru’s profile with the help of the streetlights within the shrine.

Mitsuru’s lashes laid atop her cheekbones as she casted her gaze to the ground, where her feet lazily pushed her swing back and forth. She wrung her mitten-covered hands nervously in her lap.

Akihiko pursed his lips.

“I don’t want to die either.”

She shrugged once, perking up her posture to speak more clearly, “That isn’t to say that I do not believe we can defeat Nyx, b-but…”

“It’s not guaranteed,” he finished for her.

“Right,” She nodded, her shoulders slouching once more, “Of course, while I hope we can defeat it so that I may fulfill my duties of eradicating the Dark Hour once and for all, for as long as we have this single shred of doubt…” She stopped herself and sighed deeply. Not just anyone could notice the way her breath shook, but he could. He always could, “There was so much more I wanted to do.”

“And you will—”

“You don’t know that, Akihiko.”

He rose to his feet abruptly, “I _do_ know.”

She tilted her head up, “Okay, how?”

“Because I—” His mouth snapped shut and his eyes fell to the ground. When he realized he had nothing to say, warmth rose uncomfortably on his cheeks, a stark contrast to the freezing temperatures around them, “I don’t know…”

“Exactly.”

All Akihiko could do was sigh in defeat. He watched as she bowed her head, attempting to obscure the way her stone-cold expression fell into one of sorrow, maybe even a little bit of fear.

He wasn’t used to seeing her in such a state of weakness.

Even after her father’s passing, she stood tall in the presence of others. The only time she was ever vulnerable was behind closed doors. Akihiko was the only one who would always tell when she was hurting. All he had to do to see her pain was notice the way her lips tightened into a straight line as she packed Ikutsuki’s office, or catch the way her hands trembled as she poured herself a cup of coffee in the morning, or examine the way her mascara smudged just below her lashes.

Akihiko knew her. He knew her like no one else did. She couldn’t hide her true feelings very well from him.

Despite her attempts at concealing her pain, his heart still sank at the somber sight. If he were any better with words, he’d say anything to make everything back to normal, to see the Mitsuru Kirijo he knew. He wished he could say something that would cause her to raise her head up high and face the world with a determined grin.

But he was Akihiko Sanada. He was a man of action. Words weren’t something that came easily to him.

So, instead of speaking, he approached her, trailing his footprints in the snow behind him. He stood behind her and placed his hands on the chains of her swing and began pushing gently.

Mitsuru instinctively lifted her feet off the ground and let her eyes close, feeling the cool wind wisp against her face. She took a deep breath in through her nose and out through her mouth. The air felt clean, clear.

He watched as her entire body relaxed, almost systematically. She readjusted her posture so that she was no longer slouching. Her hands came up to hold the chains of the swing, a few inches below his own. She kicked her legs with every ebb and flow of the swing. Within minutes, he could even see the slightest hint of a smile tug on the corners of her lips.

The sight made Akihiko smile to himself as well.

He just continued pushing her. The rusty old swing-set creaked above them, but they paid no mind to the unpleasant sound. Instead, they focused on the sound of the wind whistling through the air and how it brushed past the chimes hanging close to the shrine. They listened to Koromaru’s distant panting as he dug holes in the nearby sandbox. They listened to their own occasional giggles as they simply enjoyed each other’s company.

Although the world’s fate hung in the balance, in that moment, Akihiko Sanada and Mitsuru Kirijo were happy.

They cherished this moment of peace.

A few minutes later, Mitsuru’s feet finally touched the ground. As if on cue, Akihiko steadied her swing to a complete stop.

It was getting late. They should probably be going back to the dorm soon.

But neither of them moved to leave. Instead, they just remained still, a new tension hanging in the air above them like a cloud. It was a tension they had felt many times throughout the years they had known each other, but they never knew what to call it.

Akihiko was never really good with words.

Luckily for him, neither was Mitsuru.

She didn’t shy away when Akihiko’s hands slid down the chains to grab ahold of hers.

The warm sensation of their hands touching made them smile peacefully to themselves, cheeks tinting darker shades of pink.

For a moment, they just held each other’s hands until Mitsuru began craning her neck to get a better look at him. With a single glance, a wordless consent was relayed.

They closed their eyes as Akihiko leaned in, pressing their lips together softly.

A sigh escaped the two of them as they kissed.

Objectively, it was nothing special.

But to them, it was everything.

Mitsuru’s toes curled in her boots. Akihiko’s hands held hers tighter. Their brows furrowed until…

It was over.

Akihiko broke the kiss slowly, almost reluctantly. As soon as their eyes met, they both blushed furiously and turned away from each other so that they could not see each other smile.

“W-We really should return.”

Akihiko cleared his throat, “…Right.”

With that, she finally rose to her feet and stepped toward the edge of the playground, “Koromaru,” She called, “It’s time to leave.”

And just like that, a snow white Shiba Inu came scurrying toward her. All Akihiko could do was watch her as she leaned down to scratched behind the dog’s ears.

She was beautiful.

He pressed his fingertips to his lips, enjoying the lingering sensation of their kiss.

“Akihiko, are you coming?”

He shook his head back to reality. Mitsuru and Koromaru were looking back toward him from the entrance of the shrine. He hadn’t moved from the swing-set.

“Y-Yeah.”

Akihiko jogged after them and they left the shrine together, Koromaru leading the two as they walked hand-in-hand back to the dorm.


End file.
